chapter 2

Taking a deep breath, I gathered my thoughts.

Even getting there wasn't the only thing I had to do—I needed to buy a house.

According to my research, that was one of the requirements for citizenship. But fortunately, the currency value in that country was low. If I had just $1,000, it would be nearly $115,000 there.

So, I needed money—but not an impossible amount.

The real problem was who would lend me $1 million or $2 million at this point?

I opened my diary and started writing down key points.

First: Get the citizenship of Y Country.

I circled the word citizenship and listed the requirements:

A house there—costing around $500,000 in their currency.

A strong base near the ocean and glaciers.

Next, I underlined the second key point: Money.

I needed money.

I checked my account balance—my last month's salary and some savings. It still wasn't enough. Just $50,000.

Most people would consider that a good amount of savings. But for me, it was not enough.

Because I wasn't buying citizenship just for myself.

There were around 10 people I wanted to take with me—my parents, my two best friends, and a few colleagues who had always been close to my heart.

Many would say I was being reckless, trying to save others when I had yet to secure my own survival.

If only there was a way I could explain everything to them. If they understood, we could work together to achieve these goals more easily.

But that put me in a dilemma—should I reveal my secret, or should I prepare silently?

Once the disaster struck, all their assets would be worthless.

Their money, their properties—none of it would matter.

Only things like water, food, and basic necessities would hold any real value.

I would take this risk.

I would, if for the survival on everyone. I need to be prepared and i don't have any regret not telling them, as this is the time they can actually help...

But, I wouldn't tell everybody.

But…

First, I would test the waters by telling my friend—Yona.

With this thought in mind, I messaged Yona to meet up at a nearby café.

Her reply came almost instantly: "OK."

I grabbed my phone and put my cardigan on.

The weather was a little gloomy today, even in the middle of summer.

Maybe… I don't know why, but it felt like an ominous sign of the disaster to come.

It was a 15-minute walk from my apartment to the café.

As I opened the door, my eyes instantly fell on Yona.

Yona and me, We had grown up together—practically since we were in diapers.

And Why did I choose her first?

Because we had an unshakable understanding. She knew me better than anyone.

She waved at me, and nostalgia hit me hard.

I had thought about all of them countless times over the past five years. Yona had been on a trip when the disaster struck, and until the moment I died, I never found out what had happened to her.

But I didn't want to think about that now.

She was here.

She was alive.

And this time, I would make sure she survived.

I walked to the table and sat across from her.

"Evelyn, what's with this sudden 'meet me at the café'?" Yona asked, concern dripping from her voice. "Are you alright?"

It was unusual for me to initiate an outing. Usually, it was her or Emma dragging me along.

"Well, you could say so. There is something serious I need to talk to you about."

Her face tensed with worry.

"Are you alright? Is Aunt And uncle okay? What happened?"

She bombarded me with questions.

I raised a hand to calm her. "Relax. Let's order coffee first, then we'll talk."

I kept my voice soft—I didn't want to freak her out.

Among all of us, she was the most anxious one, the one who took things seriously.

And that was precisely why I chose her as the first person to tell.

Our order arrived. I took a sip of my coffee and closed my eyes, savoring the taste.

It had been so long since I had the luxury of drinking something like this.

In the post apocalypse period, even drinking water was a luxury—let alone coffee of this quality.

"So, what is it?" Yona tapped her cup and looked me straight in the eyes.

I met her gaze. "Yona, if I told you that I've lived five years more than you in the future, would you believe me?"

Instead of answering directly, I questioned her.

She gave me a serious look… and then burst out laughing.

"Really, Evelyn? You've lived five years more than me? And that's without me and Emma? How cruel of you!"

She thought it was a joke.

Before, I might have laughed along with her.

But this wasn't a joke.

It was reality.

She stopped laughing when she saw my expression. Her face turned serious.

"Evelyn, what's wrong? And what's with this question?"

I took a deep breath. "Yona, jokes aside, tell me—if I said I have lived in the future for five years and just came back, would you trust me?"

The seriousness in my voice made her pause.

She stared at me for a long moment before answering.

"I would trust anything that comes from you, Evelyn. We're best friends. You don't need to ask me how much I trust you."

It wasn't a direct answer, but in those words, I could feel her absolute faith in me.

And that warmed my heart more than anything.

"Yona, if you trust me, then I want to tell you a story—a story from today onwards."

I took a deep breath. "Exactly three months from now, on November 15th, NASA's biggest satellite will crash. It will fall to Earth at an immense speed, like a meteoroid, destroying most of the land."

I watched her reaction carefully before continuing.

"Because of its impact, a chain reaction will led an apocalypse period. It will set off a series of disasters that will turn the world into chaos. And after that, survival will become a daily battle. People will have to fight—kill—just to see the next day. Mutants, creatures we've never seen before, will roam the earth, and only those who are prepared will stand a chance."

I met her gaze.

"Would you believe me?"